


Written In the Stars

by ThennaryNak



Category: Captain Marvel (2019), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Awkward Flirting, Bad Flirting, Developing Relationship, F/F, I Tried, Nick Fury is a Good Bro, Not Canon Compliant, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Carol Danvers/Maria Rambeau - Freeform, Thor (Marvel) is a Good Bro, hard to write in canon when you don't know the canon, post-Avengers: End Game
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-04
Updated: 2019-09-01
Packaged: 2020-01-04 21:52:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18352427
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThennaryNak/pseuds/ThennaryNak
Summary: The fight for the universe is over and the surviving heroes have yet to go their separate ways. During a party a not so sober Vakyrie runs across Carol and begins an awkward path towards a relationship.(Set post End Game with me taking wild guesses to try to make it fit that without seeing the movie yet.)





	1. Starting at Rock Bottom

**Author's Note:**

> So I am just going to be very vague about End Game stuff in this as like most I have no idea what is going to happen in the movie. But I did decide to set this after the movie so I could not completely ignore it.

The celebration was finally winding down as the night began to crawl to the early morning. There was going to be some hefty clean up and perhaps a little construction needed to get Avengers Headquarters back to normal. But after saving the universe it just seemed right to cut loose as the mourning for those lost began to weigh too heavy. So drinks and music were abound and if some members of the motley grouping of heroes and their allies got a little out of hand, as a certain thunder god insisted on taking all challengers in arm wrestling and sent a table into a wall, well that was for sober minds to worry about.

Valkyrie had to excuse herself to use the restroom and after some searching, as no one seemed to give directions that made any sense to her, found one. The haphazard search ended up leaving her a bit lost when she was done and wanted to return to the party. Hitting the Asgardian mead so heavily was a brief regret until she remembered that she drank Thor under the table. That was always going to be worth it. And she could not be possibly that lost. She was pretty sure she was still in the building she started in after all. 

Meandering down hallways trying to find her way back Valkyrie could feel herself slowly sobering up. Which was helpful as she could then tell if she was going in circles. She thought she heard noise from the party not too far from where she was and tried to make her way towards it. As she did she discovered she was not the only one that had left the party. Though it looked like the other former party goer was thinking of a longer absence. 

Most of the hallway junctions of the building the area was the size of a small room with the area furnished with some comfy looking chairs and small tables. Valkyrie assumed this was because getting lost was a common enough event that the lost were given a place to rest in their journeys. In one of the chairs was the one that was called Captain Marvel. Valkyrie has a vague memory of her responding to the name Carol so that was probably also a name. She was curled up on the chair with a screen from a wrist device up as her fingers of her other hand moved in a typing motion. The woman did not seem to notice Valkyrie there and continued to type.

Perhaps it was the alcohol, well no, it was definitely the alcohol, but Valkyrie knew her type when she saw it. Confident, driven with a dry wit and a refusal to deal with anyone’s shit. Carol just radiated all of that and Valkyrie had done what she could to keep by her without looking like a stalker. She had been lamenting the fact she could not get the chance to actually talk to Carol all night. Until then. And Valkyrie was not drunk enough to let an opportunity like this slip through her fingers. And not sober enough to question if it was such a good idea when she could smell the alcohol on her.

As she was just across the way from where Carol was she figured she was in the perfect spot to talk. And since it saved her from trying to cross the distance between them when her feet were having trouble with going forward without beginning to cross over each other.

“Hey, what’re you banging at?” she asked between first and second attempts to lean against the wall without falling down.

Carol gave no indication of even noticing that she had company. That was until Valkyrie opened her mouth to say more and answered nonplussed, continuing to type away, “Just a story I’ve been working on.”

“You’re a writer?”

Carol‘s expression turned softer. “It was my dream as a child to be a pirate, pilot, adventurer and novelist. I figure I can say I have two of the four down so why not try for the third?”

There were few certainties in Valkyrie‘s life, one was that when her heart begins to flutter her brain shorts a circuit and spews out the first string of words that can form a sentence. And she may have just topped herself in word garbage with what came out of her mouth, “Wanna go find a plank with me for buried treasure and we can can make that four out of four?”

Carol‘s brows creased as she finally stopped typing to look at the Asgardian suspiciously. “How drunk _are_ you?”

Not sober enough to feel ashamed quite yet, Valkyrie shrugged. “I’m standing.”

“You’re leaning,” Carol pointed out looking at her dubiously.

To prove her bold faced lie was not the bluff it was, she pushed herself off the wall, just to overdo it enough to stumble before getting her footing stand upright. Throwing her head back to get her hair behind her again she stood triumphant. “See.”

Carol sighed. “I see you’ve had enough for the night. Let me take you to a room so you can call it a night with some dignity intact.”

Valkyrie gave Carol what she thought was a flirty look with a wink. “Aye ayyyye, Captain.”

The grimace it earned confused her, but not as much as when it became apparent that Carol was not going to be joining her in bed when they found what looked to be an unclaimed bedroom. “You’re drunk,” was the only explanation Carol gave her before promising to see her in the morning if she stayed in the room the rest of the night. Seeing as there were only a couple of hours before sunrise Valkyrie agreed and settled in to take a quick nap before holding Carol to her word. 

When she awoke at the crack of an hour past noon many things seemed clearer, despite the raging headache that felt like her skull was tearing itself apart. It was not as bad as the desert that her mouth and tongue had become. She thanked Odin that this place was built by someone who spared no expense so there was bottled water on the nightstand. She sipped the water from the fancy glass bottle as she tried to remember what she could of the night before. Most of what happened before the drinking contest remained intact but then things got fuzzy. They got slightly less fuzzy at the point she could recall roaming the hallways then finding Carol.

Valkyrie chugged down the rest of the bottle of water, wishing she could forget that embarrassing scene. She had been working so hard to try to come off as cool. Always acting nonchalant and the only thing close to a smile on her face was a smirk. Also hanging around Thor helped as his more genuine and good natured manner worked as a nice contrast. And of course paying the closest attention to what she said. Never many words to make getting her to say something more a challenge she was giving her. All now gone to waste as she blathered nonsense to her instead. 

Taking a look at the room she then nodded slowly. It was a nice place to hide until Thor secured the location of New Asgard. And if anyone tried to get her out she could go to Nebraska with the excuse of wanting to check out the place before they potentially moved out there. Either way she would never have to speak with Carol again and could bury her disgrace in the deepest shadows of her mind where all repressed memories were sealed off. 

Reaching for another bottle of water she startled when there was a light knocking on the door. Valkyrie froze as she suddenly remembered Carol telling her that she would see her later. 

There was then some more knocking but this time immediately followed by Thor’s familiar deep voice, “Val? I was told you should be in here. Are you?”

If she had her sword she would have slammed it through the door for the Asgardian King giving her such a fright. Lucky for him she was unarmed and the anger was short lived. Though there was definite simmering resentment about him seeming to lack a hangover. 

“Yea, yea, hold on,” she griped as loudly as she could without making her head hurt, as she freed herself from bedding to get out of the bed and open the door.

The flinch from Thor when first seeing her was enough confirmation that Valkyrie looked as bad as she was feeling. He was back to all smiles in an instant though but did make an effort to keep his voice down. “Ah, good. I have food and beverages in case you are hungry and thirsty.” 

“That’s nice,” she said cautiously, eyeing the bottles of various liquids and a brown box in Thor’s hands. “Are you trying to bribe me?”

“No,” he answered, “I was asked to bring these to you to help with your hang over. Though I was worried where you were since you disappeared last night.”

“I don’t doubt that,” she said backing off to give him room to enter. Inside the room she took the drinks, putting the various bottles on the night stand. Thor handed her the box and when she opened it she found a couple of containers, bananas and silverware inside. One of the containers had oatmeal and the other scrambled eggs. 

“I was told these are all foods good for helping with hangovers,” he informed her as he took a seat at the foot of the bed. 

Valkyrie looked at the food for a moment, taking in the information slowly. “Who made this?”

Thor shrugged. “I guess Carol must have. She was the one that gave it to me.”

Heat suddenly rose to her face and Valkyrie could not blame it on alcohol. As much as she wanted to think it was just embarrassment from having someone think she needed all this care the flutter of her heart told her differently. 

The last thing she needed right then was a reminder of her crush. She glared at Thor and he gave her a befuddled look. “I thought you liked Carol?”

At the question Valkyrie wished for nothing more than for Surtur to break out of the ground and send the entire place to a fiery death. “Is it that obvious?” she asked shakily.

For a moment it looked like Thor was going to try lying, but he must of remembered just how terrible he was at it since he just sighed. “You do look at her all the time with a smolder.”

“I swear, I was good at this as some point,” she groaned.

“Well didn’t you date on Sakaar?”

Valkyrie looked a little alarmed at him. “Sakaar is for hook-ups and nothing more. Everyone is some level of terrible there.”

“Point taken.” After a moment of silence he then pointed out, “Well you must be doing something right. She wanted me to see if you wanted to meet with her later.”

While not as convinced as Thor about that being a good thing, it could very well be a very bad thing, running or hiding looked like it was no longer an option. She picked up a fork and took a bite of egg. She was going to have to kick this hangover’s ass and soon, cause it looked like she was going to have to see Carol again after all.


	2. The Wayward Lonely Heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone who left a comment or a kudo! I am glad people are enjoying this fanfic.

The difference between time and distance was a blur sometimes. Not felt in the far reaches of space but felt so distinctly, so sharply, whenever Carol came back home. Came back to Earth. The fact that she had any lasting relationships when she was almost never around astounded her, yet it was far from surprising that their strength weakened through that time, through that distance.

She was happy for her friends though. They deserved all the love they found in their lives and she would never would have forgiven herself if she had been in the way of that just by not being around. But she would be lying to herself if there was not a part of herself that was not jealous of not being the one to hold the woman that meant so much to her. To not be the one to kiss away her sorrows, wake up to her smiles and walk her down the aisle to pledge to spend the rest of their lives together. 

That final thought twisted like a knife in her gut though, as it had already become obvious that the rest of her life was going to far surpass that of any human’s. Every time she came back she could see the signs of age, wrinkles where skin was once smooth and a child now a grown woman. All commenting how she looks like she had not aged a day. All of it creating a sinking feeling of dread that one of these returns to Earth will be to the news she feared to hear the most. 

Refusing to fall into the cycle of depressing thoughts about that, Carol went back to her desk to pull up a screen with a list of planets. Even though all signs pointed a return of the universe pre-Snap Carol still had friends she wanted to check on, if only to confirm with her own eyes what her brain was telling her was the only logical conclusion. Figuring out a route that would be the most time efficient was simple. Trying to make sure she did not bruise any egos because they were not the first planet, or happened to be the last planet, was the tricky part. 

Engrossed in the task she did not realize just how much time had passed until her alarm went off, the clock blinking 7:00 PM at her. She turned it off with a small frown then saved her progress before closing the screen. 

As she stretched out before getting up from the desk she turned her thoughts to a much more immediate matter. Valkyrie. Or more importantly, Valkyrie’s feelings for her.

As nice as it was to be wanted the other woman had been making it uncomfortable and frustrating with the stares and unwillingness to say much of anything to her. She was basically a blank slate to her.

When Carol brought the issue up to Thor he insisted that Valkyrie was a good person and excused her behavior on only knowing what to do on a battlefield and not so much off of it. While Carol was certain he honestly believed that, it was hard to trust his judgement going off how he refused to look at Loki in anything but the best of lights despite the multiple murder attempts on him. 

Last night was probably the most Valkyrie had ever said to her, though very little was coherent. The desire was more than obvious. Carol needed much more than that for a relationship and at that point decided it was time to sort it all out between them. Then Valkyrie could go find someone more to her tastes and Carol, well Carol always had plenty to do. Dating just was not a priority in any way, shape or form when there was so much to protect a universe from. 

She had given Valkyrie plenty of time to recover from the hangover. If not then she could distract herself with making food. Though she had just about exhausted her cooking knowledge with the breakfast she made. She refused to learn how growing up and the chow hall covered all three meals of the day. She only learned how to make breakfast after being with Maria and feeling guilty when she served up some of the best dinners Carol had ever tasted in her life. But she did learn some things about how to grill, so perhaps that could be an option.

Before she could decide on what to do there was a knock on her door. It should have been expected to see Valkyrie on the other side when she opened it, but it still surprised Carol. Perhaps it was because the usual confidence was gone as she looked rather sheepish. 

“Hey,” Valkyrie started after a moment of silence between them, then raised a stack of books up, “a thanks for taking care of me last night. Plus the food today.”

Given an action to respond to Carol got her thoughts on track once more. She stepped back to beckon the other woman to come in. She warily took the books as Valkryie passed by and gave them a look over, partly curious to what the Asgardian thought she was interested in. Yet none of the books had any titles on them. As she cracked one open to find blank lined pages Valkyrie explained, “For your books that you’re writing. Whenever you’re ready to share them with others.”

“You remember last night?” Carol asked, remaining guarded as she kept in mind where this conversation needed to go.

Valkyrie winced. “Parts. It blanks out quite a bit during my drinking contest with Thor but by the time I ran into you it gets painfully clear again. Sorry for the assholeness.”

“I’ve experienced worse.” She could not help but feel a little like a villain by remaining standoffish when Valkyrie was being so open and honest for a change. But she was not going to accidentally lead her on. Even if she was a good person. In fact if she was then that was even more reason to end things before they became something that could not be brushed away when things did not go the way either of them planned.

Silence seemed to get on Valkyrie’s nerves as it did not take long as Carol quietly placed the books on her desk for the Asgardian to speak up again. “Look, I haven’t done the courtship thing since I wasn’t the only valkyrie in the universe. I just didn’t feel ready for a relationship after all that. I feel ready now though. And I like you and would like the chance to get to know you better. Even if it doesn’t become anything. I mean you’re pretty kick ass and I like that. But you’re obviously more than that, and I think I love that. So if you’d like to join me for lunch sometime, that’d be great.” 

The resolve to let Valkyrie down dissipated like morning mist in sunshine. Carol had to fight back the urge to ask her why she did not just start off by saying that in first place instead of playing whatever games she had. Not that she was interested in “courtship”, but she could do friends. Friends were always good and if the Valkyrie currently in her room was the actual Valkyrie then she could see them together. As friends. Just friends. 

After taking a calming breath Carol turned around to look at her. With a small smirk she asked, “Isn’t it a little late for lunch?”

The surprise on Valkyrie’s face was undeniable but she recovered quickly, getting back some of her usual confidence. “Well I wasn’t thinking today. Seemed a bit late to be making plans unless you want to stay up most of the night.”

Carol raised a questioning eyebrow and Valkyrie’s face lit up in realization. “I didn’t mean it like that! Very few people around here have traditional sleeping habits so I’m not sure what yours are.” 

The soft chuckle from Carol put her back in ease. “That’s fine then,” Carol said, “I should be free for lunch tomorrow.”

“Great, that’s great,” Valkyrie answered, trying and often failing from keeping a smile on her face. “I’ll come pick you up here?”

“Sounds like a plan.”

“Yea, it does.” A moment of silence passed with neither woman just looking at each other, Carol amused and Valkyrie just smiling. 

“Well don’t let my keep you from the rest of your night,” Carol said to break the silence and motion to the door. 

Valkyrie startled a little. “Oh yes. Lots for me still to do with the late start I had. Again thank you for the water and food. I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

As Valkyrie half turned to open the door she waved with her free hand, and Carol returned the wave. “See you tomorrow.”

It was hard to feel bad that she did not stick to the plan. But she was certain the more time they spent together the easier it would be for Valkyrie to see that they would only work as friends. And if on the off chance that maybe, just maybe, she was right and they could be more. Well it would not be the worst thing in the world. Not that Carol had any plans for that to happen. It was a fun daydream to think about, if just to feel a little less lonely. As well as have some proof that she was ready to move on.

Moving back to her desk she opened the book on the top of the small stack. She had several of these before she was just human. Had so many plans to fill them up with her stories but in the end never really got far with any of them. She would either write herself into a corner almost immediately and would need to rewrite it or get the start of a story down just to have another story that had been rattling in her head demand to be written. Writing a story already complete in one never crossed her mind, but thinking of it now seemed all too obvious. As well a perfect for how she would like to present the novel she was working on to its main inspiration. 

Opening up her screen again she brought up the story. The first draft had been completed but the rewrites for the next draft was taking it some different directions she had to figure out how to weave into the main plot. Which now included the mysterious stranger that helped Space Lieutenant Trouble having a winged horse and quite the dazzling smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you may have noticed but I bumped up the chapter count to four, as I realized that to end this as I want it would feel very rushed to try to do it in the next chapter. Still aiming to get it all done before Endgame is released.


	3. Spies & Burgers

The stars never looked so bright than they did that night as Valkyrie lay on top of Avengers Headquarters. The cool night air a reminder that she was still on the ground when it felt like she could just float away in the bubble of joy she had wrapped herself in. Carol did not hate her. In fact she was willing to give her a chance. She just had to throw her pride to the wayside, which was one of the most terrifying moments of her life. But Carol seemed to like her that way, and not in the pitying way Valkyrie had planned on. It had made continuing being that open and honest so easy and it was scary in a way. The way that love always made her feel when she knew she had something true. Everything felt electric now, her body becoming a raw nerve of the emotional stew of new love and for now it was settling on euphoric. 

She did not try to track time as she was up there but once the adrenaline began to ebb away and her eyelids kept closing on her she finally made her way to the room she was staying in. It was not until she woke up around ten in the morning did it dawn on her that she had forgotten to ask Carol about where she wanted to go to lunch as she had originally planned. She could blame the shock that she could actually go with that plan as she had dozens of others based on things going much worse that she was actually prepared for. But blame was not going to reverse time or find her a place to take Carol on their not-a-date-but-how-Valkyrie-wished-it-was.

Thinking of her options she knew Thor would be useless in helping her find a place nearby. He was rarely with the Avengers let alone at their headquarters to know places beyond the compound, and if he did it was most likely a bar. Getting a few beers with Carol had its appeal but Valkyrie doubted either of them were ready to mix alcohol into things considering what a mess it had already made. 

She would have to find someone here that would be familiar with the area, which actually brought down the number of possible candidates considerably. Even more so when thinking of who among those who she felt she knew well enough to talk to. While getting ready to head out in search of someone on her short list she recalled there being a meeting scheduled that morning that Thor would be at. Most importantly Maria Hill would also be there, and not only was she on the short list but Valkyrie had the most faith in her knowing the area. The trick would then be able to get her to talk to her alone without Carol seeing her. 

Outside of Loki-esque plans of deception that she knew she had no hope in pulling off, Valkyrie had to go with the old standby of sneaking around. Not the most warrior-like move but she was only just proving that she was not a complete screw up to the Avenger and would like to continue doing so. 

Even sober the building felt a bit like a labyrinth with so many halls that looked the same. It was much easier to fall back on her tracking skills from her time as a valkyrie than she thought it would be. Picking up the little imperfections in the surroundings to create a map in her head to help her point her towards the office that Hill was sharing with Director Fury. 

She frowns slightly at the idea of facing the man. There was always something about him that gave the air that he was hiding something that Valkyrie could never feel completely comfortable around him. Which made it baffling that he and Carol were friends.

Fury or not Valkyrie was not backing down at this point and knocked on the office door. There was a few moments of silence and only just before she moved to knock once more was the door opened by the woman she was looking for. 

Hill looked surprised to see her and from the door asked, “Is there something I can help you with?”

Relaxing into her usual swagger Valkyrie answered, “I need to know a fine eating establishment that does not also serve as a tavern.”

“Has no one shown you how to use a search engine?” 

“Internet comments and reviews can be lacking and I wish for only the finest recommendations.”

Before Hill said anything else something seemed to catch her attention in the office. “Just a moment,” she then said before closing the door for a moment before it opened again. Valkyrie could swear she saw a flash of a smile on the woman’s face before it moved back to the usual neutral expression. “There’s a burger place in town that fills your requirements. I’ll send you information about it to the computer station in your room.”

It was hard to feel grateful as she should as there was definitely something going on and she had the feeling it started with ‘f’ and ended in ‘ury’. She was running out of time though and honestly if he was sending her to a shithole she would gladly let Carol know he picked the place. 

“Thanks for the help from the both of you then,” she said with a mock salute before sauntering off, refusing to let the spies think they had any upper hand. 

As promised when she checked the computer terminal in her room there was information about a hamburger restaurant in the neighboring town, simply called Rocket Burgers, which did look to be rated highly by the internet at least. 

With that out of the way she had one final decision to make before she was ready to swing by Carol’s room. She opened the closet doors in the room to see what had been placed in their for “civilian” wear. The outfits were all rather bland and she briefly wondered if she should even bother with any of them and just stick with her Asgardian clothes. They were certainly more flattering than a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. 

Glancing at the clock she grimaced seeing that it was almost time for her to meet up with Carol. In the end she settled for the jeans but did find a black sleeveless shirt with a low back. It was going to have to do as she had no time for more. She would just have to go for stunning if they work towards a real first date.

After a quick glance in a mirror to make sure she looked fine she was out the door and heading down hallways that were becoming more familiar with each day. She held back her urge to speed to her destination, she did still have a reputation to uphold.

Coming up to Carol’s door she squared her shoulders and took a deep breath, willing her usual bravado to come forth. She knocked on the door and waited, keeping her mind as blank as possible to avoid any second guessing. She was a valkyrie after all, after facing death countless times this should be easy.

The door opens and Carol is in the usual civilian attire she wears, jeans and a T-Shirt (she seems to have an endless supply of T-Shirts with 90s band names or logos on them) and her old flight jacket. It is simple and while none of it is astounding Carol makes it all work for her. “So where are we off to?”

“There’s a place in town,” she answered, fighting to stop her tongue from getting tied up with itself as she tries to toe the line between acting cool but not off putting, “thought you might like it. As you Terrans seem to like your burgers.”

The smirk Carol gives her eases some of her anxiety. “It is hard to argue that point. I assume I’ll be driving?”

“Since I’m not allowed, yes,” she grumbled, still not over the bullshit that was barring anyone without a driver’s license to drive. She could fly just about any space ship in the galaxy so a simple terrain vehicle should have been no issue. And never mind the fact that technically Carol should not even have one still, but Fury made sure to pull strings to give her a new valid one during her stay. At least Quill was denied like the rest of the non-Terrans as he had never had one before leaving the planet. 

Carol gave her a sympathetic look. “Well once you get new Asgard set up you can get that fixed,” she offered as they started walking towards the garage.

Valkyrie did perk up a little. “That is true. Thor needs to hurry up and decide where he wants to set everything up.”

“I thought he had a place in mind already?”

“He did but we have to negotiate with the nation that the land belongs to. Until that is done there are some alternatives that are being looked at. A place called Nebraska seems to be the most likely alternative.”

Carol made a face. “Let’s hope Thor’s first choice pulls through then.”

They reached the garage by then so Valkyrie decided to hold off on asking what was so bad about Nebraska. 

Carol takes a look at the key drawer, looking to be in search of something specific. Her face lights up when it is found and she pulls out a set of keys that end up belonging to a low red car. Valkyrie knows next to nothing about the vehicles to tell anything about it, other than the seats were incredibly comfortable. Carol looks excited about getting behind the wheel though, and that is enough for her to decide that she likes it.

As Carol turns the keys to get the dashboard screen to turn on she asked, “So where are we heading?”

“It’s called Rocket Burgers-,” Valkyrie began.

“Oh, I’ve been wanting to go back there before I left,” Carol said cutting her off, her eyes alight.

It is a good look on her. Valkyrie knew she wanted to see more of it and until then she would commit this one to memory. She may just have to properly thank Fury at some point.

With the destination known Carol started the car and peeled out of the garage and sped towards the compound’s entrance to get to the open road beyond it. Valkyrie had little experience of being in a car but this was the only time she could liken it to flying with how everything zipped by and Carol weaving around the little traffic they came across until getting close to the city limits of the town. Things slowed down but Carol was still able to move the car as if it just gliding along.

The building of Rocket Burgers stood out easily with a large rocket shaped decoration on the top of the restaurant. The building itself looked to be built to look like a flying saucer from old Terran movies with its round shape. At the top of the windows there were images of space craft, including a Chitauri leviathon, painted on. 

Valkyrie let Carol lead them into the restaurant where they were greeted by a waitress that led them to a table for two near the back. She handed them menus before asking for drinks, with both opting to just go with water. Valkyrie still had yet to figure out the point of soft drinks if they were not meant to get drunk off or hydrate. 

The menu continued the theme of the restaurant with everything having a name to connect it to either aliens or the greater galaxy. A novelty lost on her as she just had no idea in general what to get, having never had a hamburger in her life.

“Considering how you Asgardians eat I would recommend the Avenger Burger. Has a layer for each of the six original members and comes surrounded by fries,” Carol suggested, placing down her menu on the table, then added with a glint in her eyes, “Those who finish the entire thing on their own in one sitting gets a prize.”

Valkyrie could not stop the grin that crossed her face at the idea of a challenge. The smile Carol had was the final push she needed to finalize the decision and she was then waving a waiter over. 

“Are you ladies ready to order then?” the waitress asked sweetly. 

“The Avenger Burger,” Valkyrie said pointing to the picture on the menu of the behemoth of a meal.

The waitress nodded jotting the order down. “Will you need two plates then?”

“Oh no,” Carol corrected, looking mischievous, “that’s all for her. I’ll be having the Saturn’s Rings Cheeseburger.”

It seemed to take a moment for the waitress to have the information sink in. Her eyebrows raised, as she glanced between the two women, but to her credit she kept the polite smile on her face. “Alright then, that’s a Avenger Burger and a Saturn’s Rings Cheeseburger.”

“It is,” Carol answered. 

The waitress nodded. “Then I’ll be back with your orders in a while.”

She left, taking their menus with her. “You sure you don’t want an Avenger Burger for yourself?” Valkyrie then asked.

Carol shook her head. “I may burn through energy quicker than I once did but that’s a meal that’s just too much for me. Though I do want to see someone finish it. Was thinking of bringing Thor here for that, but I’m sure you’re just as up for the challenge.”

“You’ll find I’m a much better champion,” Valkyrie told her with a cocky smile. “Thor has far too much shame to go the distance in such challenges.”

“Then I shall trust in your ability to win.” With that she looked over to where the orders were picked up by the wait staff and on a shelf were the prizes for those who could finish the Avenger Burger. A T-shirt and ball cap with the restaurant’s logo, vouchers for restaurant food and a plush animal that looked like a ginger colored cat in a space suit. 

Nothing among those items interested Valkyrie to keep but she still swore, “I will not let you down.”

The wait for food took awhile but eventually the waitress came back with a waiter who was holding the monstrosity of a burger on a plate laden with french fries. He quickly put it down in front of Valkyrie with a loud thunk. The waitress had Carol’s order, which was a cheeseburger with onion rings and an order of fries on the side, and placed that down. “Let us know if you need anything,” the waitress said before leaving. 

“Anything wrong?” Carol asked when she noticed Valkyrie just looking at the multi-tiered burger. 

She shook her head. “It looked like it would be bigger from the picture on the menu.” 

She then just shrugged and began working her way through the meal before her. For a while after that they both focused on their food, making small comments on various topics from time to time but nothing that would lead to actual conversation. The waitress would by from time to time to check on them. She looked shocked when Valkyrie waved off an offer of putting the rest of the meal in to-go containers once she had made it through the first four burger tiers and about half the fries. 

Carol finished after Valkyrie had whittled the fries to the last fourth and was ready to finish off the final two burger tiers. “Is that just two veggie patties?” she asked as Valkyrie took a bit of it.

She nodded her head, then stopped still for a moment. “There’s a layer of wasabi between them.”

“I guess that kinda makes sense for the Hulk. Kinda disappointed they just went with traditional hamburger toppings for Captain America and not something red, white and blue.”

“What would be blue?”

Carol took a moment to think about it before making a face. “Blue cheese would be the only not completely gross option, but now I’m thinking they probably made the right choice in the end.”

Valkyrie nodded as she finished up the Hulk tier and began working on fries again. As she finished it all off she listened to Carol give her commentary about the burger and which layers worked and which could still use some more work. 

Their waitress came by again as Valkyrie was taking her last few bites before the plate before her was completely emptied. The woman looked like she was in shock, even more so when Valkyrie told her after swallowing the final bite, “I believe I have won the prize.”

The woman just numbly nodded as she took the empty plate back to the kitchen. She was talking to a man for a moment who nodded a couple of times but kept his face expressionless. He then came over to the table, giving them a smile before turning to Valkyrie to ask, “Can we have a name and place you’re from so we can put it up on the wall for all who have completed our Avenger Burger challenge?”

“Sure. Valkyrie of Asgard.”

Surprisingly he did not seem to question the answer. In fact he looked relieved and even happy when he heard it. “Well we’ll get that up on our board and get you your prizes.”

True to his word he came back next with the prizes in hand, and it was then he made the big announcement of her accomplishment so she could get the applause from the other patrons in the restaurant. Once that all died down the man, who she was assuming was either the owner or manager, left. Carol had picked up the plush cat and was looking at it, as she toyed with its tail.

“Do you like cats?” Valkyrie ventured.

“Not specifically,” Carol answered, looking like she was distracted by a thought. “This just reminds me of someone I know.”

“Why don’t you keep it then?” she offered, holding back the desire to ask more about who Carol was talking about. There was something unreadable in her features then and Valkyrie did not want to stumble into a potential sore spot. “I honestly don’t have much use for most of this stuff anyway.”

“Nonsense,” Carol said as she picked up the ball cap then lent over to put it on the other woman’s head. “All you need now is a pair of sunglasses and you will have a 100% full proof disguise.” 

She just smiled at her and Carol smiled back. If they ended up spending the rest of the day smiling at each other Valkyrie would feel it would have been an afternoon well spent. Unfortunately the world would not leave them alone and the waitress from before came over to them. 

“Is there anything else I can do for you ladies, or should I get the bill ready?” the waitress asked, still looking a bit shocked.

Still smiling, Valkyrie said, “I would like an order of what my friend had earlier.”

Carol laughing at the waitresses aghast face made Valkyrie’s heart swell. It honestly felt like it could burst at any moment but to hear that delightful sound and know she was the one that brought her that joy would be worth dying for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I was finishing writing the first part of the not-date I realized just how long this chapter was going to be if I did not split it up. So the work expands once more to include another chapter. But it's for the best as it lets me switch to Carol's perspective easily which fits the second half of the date better. 
> 
> That all said I have given up the idea of having this done before End Game. But I do have portions of the last two chapters written out already so hopefully I can finish them soon.


	4. Open Hearts, Open Skies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carol and Valkyrie's day together continues and at the end of it all Carol finally comes to a decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long gap between chapters this time. But this chapter ended up going from the shortest chapter to one of the longest so I hope that makes the wait a little more worth it.
> 
> Also without a doubt I will be able to wrap things up with the next chapter, which hopefully will not take me as long to finish.
> 
> If it has not been apparent yet I am using a fusion of what has been in the MCU movies as well as the parts of Carol's comic book history that seem to match up or at least do not contradict what we have seen in the movies so far.

Thinking of how ready she had been to push Valkyrie out of her life less than 24 hours ago made Carol feel guilty. She could not recall the last time she so easily got along with someone else despite knowing so little about each other. There was a feeling of comfort that Carol would expect to have from a good friend. There was also something electric about the Asgardian that Carol was not going to let her thoughts linger on though. 

That ease is what had her take the chance to see about pushing to see if Valkyrie would take up the challenge. She had been eyeing the plush the moment it caught her eye when she was first here with Fury but there was no way she was going to be able to finish it on her own and all the needling in the world was not getting Fury to cave in and try to help her. Which was completely unfair as he got to hog the real Goose since he had an actual house. Thankfully Valkyrie did not fail her as he did. Another plus in her favor.

Carol was slightly sad to be leaving the restaurant after they were done filling up. The bright sunshine and clear blue skies would have been sadder still to miss. As she fished the keys to unlock the car she decided that she was going to have to find an excuse to do some training outside today. 

Skipping up next to her Valkyrie grabbed the car keys from her hand. “Hey!” Carol exclaimed, looking at her surprised. 

“This is too nice a day to keep to the ground,” Valkyrie explained, wiggling her eyebrows playfully before looking up at the clear blue sky. 

She had to stop herself from simply agreeing. “You can’t fly.”

“I can hold on. And I’m sure you won’t let me fall.”

Carol just looked at her for a moment, thinking it over. It would not be the first time she carried someone in flight, but those times were almost always out of necessity for a mission or saving someone. 

She looked skyward then, the clear blue sky calling her. There was still so much day left and an excuse to spend more of it outside was nice.

Looking back to Valkyrie she nodded slightly. “Okay. Let’s leave non-essentials in the car and get up there.”

Her heart felt like it was already taking flight with the bright smile Valkyrie gave her. Which did not seem like an unusual reaction as one would have to have a heart of stone to remain unmoved with that look of pure joy aimed at them. The following thought of wanting to find out how to keep the Asgardian looking at her like that was something a bit different. Carol stashed that away to examine later so she could just focus on enjoying living in the moment. 

They placed the prizes in the car, except for the T-shirt that Valkyrie put on, as it was a more practical top than what she was wearing. After that they walked down the street to a small park area where there was plenty of room for Carol to take off from. 

“Ready?” Carol asked.

“Always.”

From behind Valkyrie wrapped her arms around Carol. Her arms crossed over the woman’s front to get a strong hold on her open jacket. Feeling Valkyrie’s hold in place Carol then launched herself up, powers flaring as she took them up until the world below looked like miniatures. 

The lift off was not with the usual bombast Carol enjoyed to use but it hardly dampened the excitement of going airborne. That was after the second of worry if Valkyrie’s hold would remain strong enough to not slip but she did not even feel it budge. Confident her passenger was going to stay where she was Carol tried to find a good speed that would allow them to get a decent view of the ground beneath them.

It did not take long to go past the city limits and the buildings below to disappear to be replaced by woods and brush. The green below them looking bright and vivid as spring was only beginning to give way to summer. 

She felt Valkyrie tighten her grip and shift on her back so she lean her chin on Carol’s shoulder. Even though she can think of several practical reasons for the closeness it does not stop her heart from skipping a beat. It was a constant reminder of the warmth of the body pressed against her. 

She spots the shore of one of the Great Lakes and gets an idea. Getting to an area far away from any watercraft in the water she asked,”Trust me?” 

A huff of laughter was felt against her neck. “Where do you think I am?”

Carol lightly butts the side of her head against Valkyrie’s, getting another laugh from the woman. “Fine. Let go and go loose.”

It was only a second of silence but it felt like it dragged on for minutes. Then Valkyrie not only let go but pushes off. She briefly wondered if Valkyrie could read her mind or if her intent was that obvious but she does not have time to dwell as she has to be instantly moving. She flips around to move behind and below the falling woman. Carol caught her, her arms going under Valkyrie’s so they were somewhat reversed from their previous position, Carol’s chin on Valkyrie’s shoulder. 

Carol passed over the lake low enough for Valkyrie to push her feet against the water as if she were on water skis. It took a moment to realize that she was laughing along with her as the water sprayed up, leaving trails that quickly disappeared behind them. 

She could not tell how long they skimmed over the water like that. Time itself seemed to stop existing as if the moment was all that there was. Eventually she guides them back to an empty area of the shoreline then lifts up off the water as she slows down her speed to slowly float over the beach. 

Carefully she touches down, making sure they both have their feet solidly under them before pulling away. Valkyrie at first pulls back with her but changes direction quickly to take a step forward before turning around to face her.

“I could rethink the whole pegasus thing if I had you to ride instead,” she joked, flashing a brilliant smile. The moment of silence right after is all it takes to realize that her words have once again betrayed her and she readies a quick apology but it cut short as she notices Carol’s reaction this time. 

Carol let out a huff of laughter. “It’s okay. You’re fine as you are.”

“Well thank you,” she answered with a bit of swagger and a wink, “you’re rather fine yourself.”

“Are all Asgardians as insufferable as you?” Carol asked. If there was supposed to be any malice behind it her smile countered it. 

“Luckily for you that’s a 100% me thing.”

“Lucky me.”

Silence falls between them and there is a charge in the air. If it were a lifetime ago Carol would know what to do. Would have shoved any thoughts out of her head and just gone with the impulse to close the distance and only worry about where things would lead afterwards. But in her current life those thoughts would not leave and they just bogged her down with questioning and worry. 

As the silence stretched on Valkyrie ran a hand through her hair before looking out towards the water. “I am glad you decided to give me another chance.” She looked back at Carol. 

Her voice catches for a moment as her conflicted emotions stall her thoughts. “I am too. I usually don’t stay in the same place for long so I don’t have too many people I can call a friend. It’s nice to know I have one more.”

Even though Carol knows her answer is lacking it still brings a bright smile to the Asgardian’s face. “Glad to hear.”

There is a guilt that gnaws at Carol for not being able to be completely honest, even though she is not sure what that honesty would actually be. She still feels the need to try to make it up to the other woman by at least giving her something else. Looking at the waves as they pull back from the beach she smiles as an idea strikes her. “Are sand castles a thing in Asgard?”

Valkyrie looked a bit surprised by the question. “Sand wasn’t that great of a building material.”

Carol smiled as she walked over to where the sand looked damp from the tide before kneeling down. “It’s not that great here either unless you’re willing to have whatever you make wash away.”

Understanding crosses Valkyrie’s face and she joins Carol, taking a seat next to her as the other woman begins to pack sand together to be the beginning of a wall. “There weren’t many beaches like this on Asgard,” Valkyrie said as she followed Carol’s lead in building the castle, “Most of coast had docks for the fishing boats. The forests and mountains were where you went to get away from the city.”

Carol nodded as she listened. “I never lived close to a beach but my family would go during the summer. I usually made sandcastles with my older brother, Stevie. Though the last few times instead we made rockets. We even made a map of the solar system once.”

“Ever get the chance to take him into space?”

The familiar pain of loss came up, though the sting it once held had turned into a brief numbness. “He passed away before I graduated from high school. Long before I got my powers. But I know he would have loved to have gone.”

“The good never seem to have enough time.” Was all Valkyrie replied.

Carol was glad it was not the usual apology for the loss. It instantly relieved the usual tension that built when she had to tell someone that Stevie had died. And she found herself agreeing with the statement as her mind drifted away from her brother and to more recent losses, “No, they never do.”

When they finished the sand castle Carol etched the Avengers symbol onto it with her finger. A simple cathartic gesture that put her mind at ease for the moment. She wished they could have stayed to watch the ocean waves reclaim that piece of shore to reset everything, giving it a blank slate for the next visitors, but it was starting to get late in the day.

The return trip back to the car then the return drive to Avengers Headquarters felt far too short. Thankfully the flight back got rid of the sand on them so Carol could rest easy that she was not going to get a lecture from Fury about making a mess of the car. They talked easily about things about Earth that Valkyrie was trying to figure out and Carol did her best to explain what she could or would agree about how strange it was even for her on the drive back from the restaurant. And it took awhile for them to find a good place to end the conversation after Carol had parked.

When they did get out of the car Valkyrie had her winnings, minus the space cat plush in her arms, as she had been willing to let Carol have it after Goose was explained to her. She did have to promise to let Valkyrie meet the flerken. Since it meant Carol getting to see more of Goose she was more than happy to agree to that.

“Let me know when you’re free again,” Valkyrie told her as they separated once inside the building, “I’d like to do something like this again.”

“Sure thing,” she promised without hesitation. “Until then don’t be a stranger.”

“Then I’ll be seeing you around,” Valkyrie said in parting with a wink. Carol gave her a small wave before the other woman turned to head towards the area of the headquarters that the Asgardians there were staying.

After parting ways with the Valkyrie, Carol headed back to her room. Her feet felt light and she had to check at one point that she had not unconsciously activated her powers. Once in her room she carefully placed the space cat on her desk so it would sit up properly. 

Alone with her thoughts it was harder to ignore the feelings that had been building up throughout the day. She liked Valkyrie. Not in just a friend kind of way as she had been trying so hard to keep her at. She wanted to know what her lips would feel like against her own and if she would have bedhead when she woke in the morning.

The nagging voice that had been pulling her back from taking the leap towards answering those questions returned. Bringing up the doubts about how a relationship could even last when she could not have gotten things to work with Maria. She was the greatest love of her life and even then she knew a part of her would never stop loving her on some level. But it did not stop her from wondering if she should have fought harder to keep their love alive. Or if any future relationships would suffer in the same way. It was not like she was getting away from the issue of an aging difference with Valkyrie as Asgardians lived far longer than Kree. 

She changed into workout gear and headed towards the gym. Punching things always made her feel better. And the Avengers Headquarters gym was one of the only places on the planet that had equipment she could hit that would not break if she did not completely hold back. 

The gym was empty, which was common in recent days. With everything that had happened fitting in a workout was not the top priority for many, only a dedicated few that needed the consistency in their lives. She went to the back of the gym to an area filled with boxing equipment. A wall had pads built in that were supposed to be able to handle punches from Thor and the Hulk. Carol had yet to test if she would fall into that limit, but she was not planning on going all out so it should work out.

At first she just worked on finding a steady rhythm keeping her mind mostly clear of thought. After settling into one she began to let her mind drift, letting the thoughts she had been putting on hold for the past few days filter to the surface.

There was no getting around the fact that she liked Valkyrie. The relationship had gotten off to a rocky start but as Carol actually got to know the other woman began to take a somewhat endearing quality. Being around her Carol found it hard to get stuck on thinking about the past. Her visits to Earth have always felt like journeys into the past but this time with the time she spent with Valkyrie she was free to stay in the present and if she would allow herself think about finding a future on the planet once more. Spending the day with her had Carol feeling the most like herself as she had in years and a part of her longed to return to being that person again. When she no longer was holding herself back on anything. 

Guilt began to gnaw at her and she shook her head, as if it could simply shake it away. Things may have not worked out as she planned with Maria, but there was not a second with her she would trade for anything. Even centuries later when Carol would be an old woman she was certain that she would be able to recall karaoke nights and all the flimsy excuses they used to stay curled up together in bed as if it were yesterday. Besides, Maria had moved on already and it was about time Carol did the same. She knew her old friend would probably sound a little less worried about her if she knew she had found somebody who could knock some sense into her when she was not around.

A smile crossed her lips as she could hear Maria asking her what in the world she was waiting for. And she had a point. Thinking things all the way through instead of listening to her gut was never Carol’s forte. Right now she could use some happiness in her life and Valkyrie brought that with her in spades.

So screw it. She was falling in love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, for a longer explanation about why it took so long to finish this, I had a bad depressive episode near the end of April and the start of May. It was bad enough that I finally reached out to get professional help for my depression, which I had been stubbornly dealing by myself. It was easily the best decision I could have made but it took having to put a lot on hold to focus on getting better. And of course when I am depressed like that I have little motivation to much of anything, especially things I enjoy like writing as all I end up focusing on is how it no longer making me happy like it should. So I did not get back to writing anything until about mid-May, and even then I did not have much time and I was not pushing myself much since my mental health had to come first. 
> 
> That said I have been mostly working on this chapter for the past couple of weeks and I am happy with how it turned out. I had some last minute additions to it that I feel made it much stronger and I am getting to the point that I have a good idea of what my voice for Carol is. Definitely want to write more fics with her. I still need to find the same for Valkyrie, but that makes me want to write more for her so I can find it. 
> 
> I cannot promise a time frame for when the next and final chapter will be done. I am feeling much better so I am hoping it does not take more than a month like this one did. But again I do not want to make any promises at this time.


	5. Star Searching

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carol and Valkyrie have come to their decisions in what they want with their relationship but have to figure out how to deal with the obstacles to it.

Valkyrie frowned and flicked her hand at the few clouds in the sky that night when she returned to the rooftop to stargaze. “You’re in the way,” she complained to them, but they showed no signs of budging.

 

Despite them though she could not keep her smile down. She had been grinning like a fool since she and Carol parted hours ago and nothing seemed to be able to stop it. She could not have imagined a better day if she had tried. The more time she spent with the other woman the more she could feel herself falling even harder for her. And unless her mind was playing tricks on her Valkyrie was certain she saw a couple of looks sent her way that were signs of mutual attraction.

 

It had been so long since she had fallen like this she forgot how strong the giddy rush of new love could be. It made her feel drunk with it. All it took was recalling the feel of Carol’s body against her own and she might as well have been sky high again. She had to be careful not to give herself emotional whiplash as the memory of building a sandcastle came around. That moment of openness pierced Valkyrie’s heart in a way that gave all her feelings for Carol a weight to them. As fun as everything had been they were all overshadowed by the fact that there was an actual bond of trust now between them.

 

Valkyrie leaned back on the rooftop with that sobering thought in mind. That bond was already working to take her infatuation with Carol and turning it into a real relationship. Of course there was so much more to be done to finish the process but she was ready for it.

 

Her smile turned mirthless as she mused at how that fear of opening up to someone also seemed to be as strong as when she crossed that line with her first love. But she at least had the wisdom to know that the potential reward was worth the risk, and rejection would be a fleeting pain.

 

Turning her attention to what stars she could see she let her mind wonder to end up daydreaming about being out among them with Carol, bringing a dreamy smile to her face. She would deal with the less fun reality in the morning. The night was for dreams after all.

 

In the morning, even if it could still just barely be called the morning, Valkyrie made her way to find Thor to catch up on anything she may have missed. After the search of the usual common areas she found someone that pointed her towards one of the meeting rooms.

 

Her heart skipped a beat as she remembered that by then they should have gotten some word back about some of the potential New Asgard locations. It would be nice to have a home once more.

 

Not bothering to knock Valkyrie let herself in and smiled at the Asgardian King that looked up at her from the large wooden table in the room.

 

She got a large beaming smile in return as Thor greeted her, “Ah good, you’re awake. I have some great news, we have a location to build New Asgard!”

 

“That’s great!” She rushed over to his side to look at the papers he was looking at that outlined further details. “Where did we end up? Please don’t say Nebraska.”

 

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” he said, his smile refusing to wane, “Norway agreed to let us settle on their shore. There will be some ceremonial things we will have to do before we can start heading over to start building but that should be wrapped up by the end of the month. Can I assume that you’ll be willing to accompany me?”

 

“What? You need a bodyguard or something?”

 

Thor shook his head. “I doubt there is much in Norway that I can’t handle by myself. No, I’ve been thinking quite a bit about what kind of ruler I would like to be. While I admire my father I know he was not perfect and I would like to be able to set things up so to avoid his mistakes, not just during my reign but in those that would come after me. From our discussions I know you have plenty of good ideas about how that could look like and I would like to see about implementing some of them. For that to work I believe you need to be a part of it.”

 

“Well look at you, getting all progressive,” she said trying to sound joking even though she was beaming. “And you don’t need to guess, I’d be happy to help bring around a truly New Asgard.

 

“That said, we have to plan a celebration for this.”

 

The look of relief on Thor’s face was unmistakable when she gave her answer. It was soon replaced with his usual beaming grin when he told her, “Already being done. Though I have been informed by Fury that we will lose our temporary shelter here if he has to fix anymore Asgardian sized holes in the walls, so we will have to go lighter on the mead than usual.”

 

“That’s fine. I’d like to avoid making an ass of myself in front of Carol again anyway.”

 

“Is that going well?” He asked, sounding honestly curious thought there was also something in the tone of his voice that Valkyrie could not quite place.

 

“Yeah, not as well as I really want but I think there just might be a chance over time-,” Thor tried to hide a worried look that had her stop short to ask, “What?”

 

“It’s not that I’m not happy for you. Really. It’s just from what I’ve been hearing Carol plans on leaving to go back to patrolling the galaxy again. The best time frame I have heard that would be in the next couple of weeks.”

 

“Oh.” She let herself get so wrapped up in getting closer to Carol the reality of their inevitable separation never crossed her mind. Her heart immediately sank but her mind also began racing with ideas of how to somehow make things work. “Well, it’s not like our paths will never cross again. And I can make the most of a couple of weeks.”

 

“You really think you can make it work?”

 

“Thor, you don’t live as long as I do to not know that finding someone that clicks with you in all the right ways is a once in a millennium kind of thing, if you’re lucky. Even if I have to fight my through a zombified Hela and the rest of her undead army for the chance of this being that kind of relationship then you better believe that I’m gonna fuck shit up and get my girl.”

 

Thor looked at her stupefied for a bit before saying, “I’ll take that as a ‘yes’ then.”

 

-

 

Making excuses to stay on Earth was not nearly hard as Carol had thought it would be. There was a lot for her to catch up on since the last time she had returned and the members of the Avengers were fast becoming new friends. She had a feeling that spending time on that was going to come in handy as it looked like Earth was not going to be able to remain hidden away from the rest of the universe. Not that it did a great job of that beforehand with visits from Asgardians, Celestials and Kree spotting its history. But now the interactions were going both ways and attracting more attention.

 

It was getting hard to justify the excuses though. She knew better than anyone the need to have someone out in the universe helping out the various inhabited planets. Thanos’ attack on Xandar had thinned the Nova Corps to a shell of what it once was and it would takes years to get them back to their previous size and strength. So saving the galaxy right now fell to her and the Guardians. The Guardians had already left, eager to get back into space, which just left Carol dragging her heels.

 

She sighed as she brought up the map of the sector of the galaxy that she was trying to decide should be on her first pass through. The questions she had about Valkyrie and her feelings for her had been mostly worked out, she just needed to speak with the Asgardian to make sure they were on the same page. But having to leave so soon after the start of a relationship was a miserable thought no matter how she tried to think about it.

 

She heard the door of the planning room glide open and out of the corner of her eye saw who it was. She was not surprised that Fury would come looking for her. He had been hinting around wanting to know when she would be leaving now that things were settling down on Earth.

 

“I’m going to have to start charging you rent if you plan on staying much longer you know,” he told her dryly as he walked over to the screen she was in front of her.

 

She looked at him with a slightly raised eyebrow and a small smirk. “Relax, Fury. I just have a few things I need to finish up and I’ll be ready to go.”

 

“Another date or two before you go?” Fury asked pointedly.

 

“Since when have you interested in my love life?”

 

He shook his head. “Honestly, I don’t really care with whatever you have going on there. But I like to think I know you well enough that I can assume not having a direction to move onto after saving the universe is going to start getting to you soon. It will also help put this old spy’s mind at peace knowing that when I look up to the sky that there’s something good out there, and not just more Thanos level threats that haven’t found us yet.”

 

“Ever the optimist,” Carol responded with a small smile.

 

Fury shrugged. “We all have our specialties.”

 

Turning away from the screen to face her friend she crossed her arms then said, “I need a phone.”

 

“A phone?”

 

She smiled at his baffled response. “To help put an old spy’s mind at peace.”

 

-

 

Valkyrie fidgeted with the cloth of the flowing sleeves of the shirt she was wearing. While it had been tempting to wear a more traditional Asgardian outfit Thor had recommended to wear clothes from Earth as it was their home now. Of course it might have been more so he did not stand out as much as he was wearing a simple suit with the shirt only partially buttoned. She had picked a top with sleeves that reminded her of Asgardian dresses that matched with a simple skirt. She went with high heels as she knew better than to go to any group function unprepared and if need be she could rip the heels off to stab something with them. It was also amusing to watch the men she was now taller than try to somehow make up the height difference by trying to fix their posture in the most awkward ways.

 

Glancing over to where Thor was she had to smile as he and Hulk continued their games to try to out due each other without causing damage that would get Fury angry at them. She had been over with them at the start when it was just bodacious bragging and a few arm wrestling matches that both found excuses to invalidate when it did not end in their favor. She had excused herself to get another drink from the bar when she had thought she had seen Carol enter the multi-level lounge room but it had ended up being a false alarm.

 

Not willing to admit the mistake she decided to stay at the bar, leaning back against it as she watched her fellow party goers. It was rather subdued for an Asgardian celebration without at least one fight going on at all points of the night. But there was plenty of bawdy singing, energetic dancing and loud arguing between friends to make it a decent one.

 

She let herself get caught up on the group dancing, trying to merge traditional Asgardian dance with some from Earth to create what simply looked like an amusing mess as the two styles clashed against each other. Wrapped up in the spectacle she did not notice someone ordering a drink next to her at first and when she did it was just to acknowledge the presence next to her without really looking at the person.  

 

It was not until their arm was brushing up against her did she actually look over. Her years as a valkyrie served her well to hide her surprise at finding herself face to face with Carol. Her sharp brown eyes trained on hers with an intensity Valkyrie had not seen from her before but the smirk on her red lips was familiar enough.

 

“I was worried I was keeping you waiting,” Carol said before taking a drink of her beer, never breaking eye contact with Valkyrie.

 

“You were,” she answered, bringing her bravado up to full muster, “but I’ve found you’re worth waiting for.”

 

While not wanting to look away from Carol’s gaze Valkyrie found herself taking quick glances to try to get a better look at the other woman. She had only seen her on the battlefield or in causal clothes before so there was a lot to take in. Her short blonde hair was stylized to look to sweep back. Her sleeveless blue dress had a black strap over her left shoulder and the back and the skirt only slightly flared out and ended a little above the knees. The matching blue shoes were flats and with how often Carol would smooth down the skirt a sign that this was not what she was comfortable wearing.

 

Carol went to say something but a large roar from the crowd around Thor and Hulk suddenly erupted catching her attention. Valkyrie laughed, “Sounds like the boys are really starting to get fired up.”

 

Cocking her head to the side, Carol suggested, “Then maybe we should head somewhere else so our night won’t be interrupted by Fury sending SHIELD agents in.”

 

Emotions began to bubble up as Valkyrie’s mind started to bring up hopeful tangents of where being alone with Carol might lead. While she could dismiss the more fanciful ones easily there was a hope that perhaps their day together had changed something between them that she could not put down. Putting her drink down she turned to better face the other woman as she told her, “I know the perfect place.”

 

“Then lead the way,” was all Carol said before putting down her own beer and gesturing for Valkyrie to take the lead.

 

They walked in silence but Valkyrie found a comfort in it. Never feeling uneasy that Carol had stopped following her at some point or worrying if it would stretch on once they reached their destination. She had too much to say for that anyway, and it had been obvious there was something on Carol’s mind as well.

 

As usual the rooftop was empty and unlike the night before there was not a single cloud in the sky. She took a few strides across the rooftop before turning to say, “This is my favorite spot in this whole place.”

 

“I can see why,” Carol said with her eyes on the night sky the whole time. After a moment of silence between them she looked over at Valkyrie, a soft look in her eyes. “I honestly wasn’t expecting to do more than get contacts and maybe make some friends while I was here. Wasn’t really expecting you. I need to go back to patrolling the galaxy but I want to keep seeing you.”

 

“We should work something out,” came rushing out of Valkyrie’s mouth before she could stop herself. She continued with, “The more I get to know you, the more I fall in love with you.”

 

The quickness of her response seemed to take Carol by surprise as she looked slightly shocked. It was quickly replaced by a look of relief as Carol smiled at her. “Well I was hoping for that, as I’m sure I am too. Falling for you.”

 

Valkyrie’s heart soared at the words making her wishes into truth. Without thinking she was moving forward to close the distance between them.

 

The kiss was soft and sweet and everything Valkyrie had been dreaming of. When it deepened she began to feel as if she was drunk in her love. As if time and space slipped away from them to give them a perfect moment together undisturbed by the rest of the universe.

 

When their lips parted they stayed in their embrace, Carol only moving to press her forehead against Valkyrie’s. The Asgardian dare not even open her eyes, as if that would end the dream.

 

The moment ended far too quickly as Carol was the first to break the silence. “Yeah. I’m pretty sure I’m falling for you.”

 

Valkyrie felt a small smile tug on her lips. “So how is this going to work out? You’re always welcome to visit New Asgard if it helps any.”

 

“I’m glad to hear it.” The following silence got Valkyrie to open her eyes and she found herself meeting Carol’s. The Avenger looked slightly conflicted before saying, “I’ll need your phone number.”

 

Valkyrie blinked. “I don’t have a phone.”

 

“Then do us a big favor and get one. Preferably one with video. I modified a phone so it can reach Earth from even half a galaxy away. I know some people on another planet that can set it up to cover the other half so we can stay in touch.”

 

Valkyrie’s face completely lit up then she suddenly gave Carol a quick peck on her lips. “Then what are you so worried about? That’s perfect!”

 

“You’re fine with just being able to talk?” she asked dumbfounded.

 

“I have a magical teleporting axe wielding Thor, remember,” Valkyrie said with a smirk. “If he can see where you are he can get me there. He also owes me enough that he wouldn’t say ‘no’ to me.”

 

Carol’s bright smile was almost blinding.Valkyrie did not get much time to enjoy it as Carol leaned in to lead their second kiss. This one was was deeper as they let themselves fall into it more, with the last of the barriers for their relationship swept away.

 

They stayed on the roof for the rest of the night, only coming in when the first rays of sunlight began to peak out over the horizon.

 

 

-Months later-

 

Carol touched down near the waterfalls she had spotted early on her trip to Keimer. Now that the planet had warded off attempts of being conquered by the Shiar Empire and established connections with the Nova Corps, not to mention had a way to contact Carol if any other interstellar empires began eyeing it, she had time to explore. There was much of Keimer that reminded her of Earth, the woodland she was currently in reminded her quite a bit of the Pacific Northwest with how the dense woods spread over everything and into the mountains.

 

Finding a clearing near the waterfall base she pulled out her phone and took a picture. She did not have to wait long after sending it off for the beam of light to descend from the sky with the crack of thunder. She smiled widely at the two familiar faces that appeared and fly over to wrap the smaller of the two in a hug. “Slow day?” she asked.

 

Valkyrie shifted to give Carol a quick kiss, “If I had to look at one more proposal from a tech company wanting to ‘help us build a new tomorrow’ I was going to have to find some boulders to punch.”

 

Carol laughed. “Well you’re the ones that chose to go with Earth for New Asgard.”

 

“Speaking about punching this though,” Thor interrupted, “is there anything that needs finishing off in the area?”

 

“Sorry,” Carol answered, “but I already took care of things here. But there’s a pub in the town nearby that came highly recommended to me. They insisted they had drinks that could rival my punches.”

 

“That sounds good enough for me,” he moved over to the direction Carol had pointed at as he got his axe ready to swing. “I shall make me leave then. Farewell ladies.” With that he was off leaving the two women still in their embrace.

 

“Well now that’s the crowd is gone, what’s the plan?” Valkyrie asked, bringing her attention back to solely be on Carol.

 

“I was hoping that I found the perfect forest for you to show me what Asgardians like to do when they get away from the city.”

 

Moving her face closer Valkyrie said, “I could do that.”

 

Carol took up the invitation and closed the distance between them for a kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cannot say there was one main reason for why this took so long to finish. A part was definitely making sure to take care of my mental health, another was that I had some big changes in my life to adjust to and then there was the fact that I hit a major writing block with the final scene I needed to complete for this chapter. I ended up taking a writing break and coming back to it finally got me through the writing block so I can now say I have completed the longest fanfic I have written so far. 
> 
> Despite the setbacks I had a lot of fun writing this and plan on writing more for the pairing. Or just Carol ships in general as I do also have a soft spot for CarolxMaria as well. I am also proud of myself to have managed to get through writing a multi-chapter fic and hope to do more, though maybe do more planning for a release schedule so readers do not have to wait so long between chapter updates even when my life gets in the way of writing.
> 
> Thank you to all the readers that have stuck with this fic. I truly appreciated the feedback, in either kudos or comments. They always brightened my day a little more. So thank you for the support and I am glad to have written something others can enjoy.

**Author's Note:**

> So I completely fell in love with the idea of this ship and wanted to explore it through fic. I really only wanted to write a simple one and done story but it got away from me and became a three parter. I am not the quickest writer so please be patient. I will try to get this done as soon as I can. In fact I hope to complete it before End Game comes out and makes everything in this canonically wrong.


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